If you recently attended A Play is a Poem at the Mark Taper Forum, then you had a chance to see how amazingly talented and unique Nellie McKay is. If you haven’t seen or heard her, you have a great chance on Tuesday night when McKay plays Catalina Jazz Club in Hollywood on Tuesday night.
McKay is a singer-songwriter whose own material feels right at home with many of the songs she covers. Her most recent EP, Bagatelles, was just released on Palmetto Records. There are eight songs on Bagetelles including The Best Things in Life Are Free, Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah and One More for My Baby (And One More for the Road.) Bagatelles is a companion to her 2018 recording Sister Orchid.
No one sings and performs the way McKay does. She infuses every song with a wonderful combination of her own personality and a very distinct take on the music. She often accompanies herself with just a piano or a ukulele. With a voice as unique as hers, she doesn’t need anything more.
For those south of Los Angeles, McKay will be performing on November 1st at Carlsbad’s Museum of Making Music.
For tickets at Catalina Jazz Club go here.
For tickets at the Museum of Making Music go here.
Photo of Nellie McKay by Shervin Lainez